Karen Hastie Williams (September 30, 1944 – July 7, 2021) was an American lawyer and company director.

She worked for Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Kampelman,[1] and was the first woman and person of colour to become a partner at Crowell & Moring.

[2] In the 1980's, Williams helped victims of terrorism to sue countries which sponsored terrorist groups.

She is credited with assisting the American journalist Terry Anderson to achieve compensation from the Iranian government, after he was kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon, and held for over four years by Hezbollah militants.

[5] In 2005, Hastie Williams became the first chair of the Folger Shakespeare Library's newly independent board of governors.